Pryce is on the money as he gets redemption
RALLY TENDRING & CLACTON BRC 23-24 APRIL
Osian Pryce’s British Rally Championship title hopes were turned, quite literally, upside down just over five months ago, as his Volkswagen Polo R5 lay the wrong way up in a field on the penultimate stage of the Ulster Rally.
Last weekend was the best possible start to his redemption. The Welshman snatched a sensational victory from four-time BRC champion Keith Cronin and took the spoils at the opening round of the season, Rally Tendring & Clacton. Pryce grappled with Cronin during the final two loops and wrestled the lead from the grip of the ultra-experienced Irishman to secure the perfect start to his campaign.
“That win is really special,” said
Pryce. “I didn’t think it was possible to be honest, but big thanks to the team, they turned the car around this morning and made it into that sweet thing that we were really looking for.”
It had been a hard week for Pryce, who suffered from last-minute funding issues and the loss of a close friend. “I’m well chuffed really,” he added. “I almost wasn’t coming on Thursday. We have had a rocky road but I’d really like to dedicate this win to a good friend Richard Lewis who sadly left us this week, so this one is for him.”
With the Essex-based event on the calendar for the first time in the BRC’S 64-year history, there was no formbook to draw from. And with stages reminiscent of a Belgian and Scottish Borders crossbreed, any one of the top-tier crews could have thrown up some surprises. But some things never change, and it was Cronin who stole the march over the chasing pack during the opening two seafront stages on Saturday evening and headed into day two with a slender 0.6-second lead.
After bedding into his Polo R5 and the tyre lottery that befell crews on the uncharted surfaces, Cronin was on a mission. Closest challenger on the morning loop, Ruari Bell, was forced out after his Skoda Fabia R5 suffered radiator damage, which left Pryce and Cronin to fight all the way to the finish, with set-up adjustments to Pryce’s Polo the saviour of his rally.
James Williams quietly set about doing his own thing during the weekend, working his way towards the front in his Hyundai i20 R5. His very first BRC fastest stage time came on the second test. Technical issues kept him at arm’s length from the frontrunning Polos, but third was a welcome result.
Equally as enthralling as the battle for the top-flight honours, the Junior BRC contenders hustled their way through the lanes within a whisker of each other all weekend too. Norwegian Ola Nore Jr made light work of his British debut and dispatched 2021 Junior BRC runner-up Eamonn Kelly’s similar Ford Fiesta Rally4 in the final throes of the event. The European Rally Championship ace showed impressive pace to take a somewhat surprising victory. “I really can’t believe I’ve managed to do this,” he said. “I just want to get the experience and mileage, but I had such a comfortable feeling, I just kept going.”
Kelly salvaged second spot, while Kyle White took his Peugeot 208 Rally4 to third after initially leading the class.